This invention relates in general to apparatus for playing back from recording media recorded information which includes both preselected segments and unpreselected segments More particularly, the present invention relates to playback apparatus in which unpreselected segments such as unedited video scenes may be automatically played back from recording media such as magnetic tape.
Information recorded on recording media such as magnetic tape or magnetic or optical disc frequently has segments which possess less interest for playback than other segments. Thus, for example, in the recording of program material such as broadcast movies or TV programs, commercials are frequently interspersed between segments of the movie or TV show. When playing back the recorded program, it is desirable to skip the commercials automatically so that the flow of story line or action may be shown unimpeded to the viewer. Similarly, when a video camera is used to record movie sequences, it may be desirable to edit the movie bursts to eliminate out-of-focus or uninteresting scenes. It is also desirable to play back scenes in a different sequence than the sequence in which they were recorded and to designate a sequence of scenes as a file so that they may be played back automatically in the designated sequence upon designation of a file name or number.
One technique for editing recorded information is to review the recorded material, to make a note of selected segments and then to manually duplicate the segments in a selected sequence onto second recording media such as magnetic tape for playback. This technique, however, has several drawbacks. In the reproduction of a duplicate tape, especially when using home video tape recorders, there is a degradation in the quality of the duplicate tape. Moreover, the unedited segments originally recorded would be lost forever if the unedited original tape is recorded over. Moreover, this technique is tedious and time-consuming in requiring the manual control of two tape recorders. It has been proposed (such as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,210,785 and 4,210,940) to provide a single video tape recorder for selecting tape segments of a recorded tape for playback in any desired sequence. An operator selects which segments of the tape are to be replayed and in which sequence those segments are to be replayed irrespective of the location of the selected segments on the tape. An electronic controller responsive to the operator's selection causes the recorder to replay selected tape segments in the proper sequence. A similar system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,224,644 in which tape positions indicative of the start and stop points of each selection recorded on the tape are stored in a memory and the stored stop and start positions for each selection subsequently recorded at the start of the tape. Thus, the tape may be removed from the recorder and when reinserted for playback, the stop and start positions are read from the tape and utilized for locating the selections on the tape to be played.
Although these devices may be useful for the purposes for which they are intended, it may be desirable to automatically playback unselected or unedited segments from an unedited tape in a simple and efficient manner. The apparatus disclosed above do not provide for simple playback of unselected segments.